Mix and Match Tailoring

One of the biggest trends to come out of London Collections: Men was the art of mixing and matching tailored pieces. When done correctly, the look is more pared back and casual than a matching suit.

But what does this mean for menswear? The dynamic is changing. With more men than ever taking pride in there appearance and shifting their sartorial preferences up a few notches on the smartness barometer, it was only a matter of time before an element of casual dressing was introduced to loosen things up a little bit. You want to look dapper, but not overdone: it’s a way of dressing up then dressing down.

Mix and Match a Blazer and Trousers

Casually combining different suits has been pulled into the mainstream. Seen at Ede & Ravenscroft, Hackett and Oliver Spencer for LC:M AW15/16, it’s the perfect way to nail smart-casual dressing.  Wearing head-to-toe tonal has been big in both mens and womenswear in recent seasons, so an easy way is to try one colour in two different tones. Mix a pale sky-grey with a darker charcoal hue. A different approach to mixing and matching a suit is opting for the same colour but in different fabrics, such as in wool, velvet and tweed.

Mix and Match with a Waistcoat

Adding a waistcoat is a great way to experiment with different colours and tones in your tailoring. Either wear a different coloured waistcoat to your suit or mix a matching waistcoat and blazer with different coloured trousers. Steely greys and inky navies work well for this look. 

Mixing and Matching Checks

Want to hit refresh on your checked suit for the New Year? Split up the suit and wear them separately as statement pieces. This smart-casual look will take you to the next level. For the more daring, GQ have created the perfect formula to mixing checked tailoring: “One big pattern + one small pattern + one solid = success” 

One final note on mixing and matching suits: you can get away with more colour or pattern in your blazer than the trousers!